Improvement in folding children s carriages



F. BELLOWS, Jr. Folding Childs Carriage.

\ With respect to each other and to the handlehandle G above, and pivotally attached at the UNITED STATES, PATENT OFT-rcao FREDERICK BELLOWS, JR., OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN FOLDING CHILDRENS CARRIAGES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 220,214, dated October 7, 1879 application filed May 19, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK BELLows, J r., of the city of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improved Folding Ohilds Carriage, whereof the following is a specilication.

My invention relates to a folding childs carriage provided with a hammock and a folding canopyframe and canopy; and the invention consists, substantially, in the arrangement and combination of pivoted side bars for the main frame with a handle-shaft and the wheel-axles of the carriage,and in the disposition of the standards Which hold up the folding canopy shaft; also, in certain details relating to the construction of the carriage, the canopy, and the hammock.

In the annexed drawings, which form part of this specification, Figure l represents a view of the carriage as when extended and ready for use, showing the canopy and the hammock. Fig. 2 showsthe carriage when closed or folded up. Fig. 3 is a general view of the frame of the carriage with the canopy, the hammock, and the Wheels removed. Fig. 4 is a view of the hammock and means of attaching the same to the carriage.

A A and B B are two sets of shafts, which form the side bars of the carriage. They cross each other and are pivoted together near their mid-length a, so as to admit of folding together when required. rI hc lower extremities of these side bars are to be suitably connected to the axles O D of the carriage, and the upper ends are rmly secured to crosspieces E and I, respectively. A A are also rmly connected by a cross-bar, M.

G is the handle or bar by which the carriage is propelled. To this is firmly affixed two side rods, W, which reach downward and are made fast to a cross-bar, a'.

H is the main handle-shaft, affixed to the lower end to a cross-bar, F, made fast to the side bar, B, aforesaid.

Said handle-shaft may, instead, be similarly attached to the hind axle, D.

The cross-bar I, before mentioned, has a guiding-loop, P, (a screw-eye, for instance,) the operation of which maybe compared tol the runner of an umbrella. This loop encircles the handle-shaft H and ties the two parts together, while permitting the free movement of the bar I up and down on the handleshaft H in the act of folding and unfolding the carriage.

To hold the carriage in the folded or unfolded state, I provide the handle shaft with suitable catches d e, operating in connection with the loop or runner. These catches are preferably self-acting, like the catch-springs of an umbrella, and adapted to be depressed by hand.

In practice, the bar M is attached after the front wheels are placed on their axle.

I will next describe the folding canopyframe.

K K are the front standards of the frame. N N are the rear standards thereof, and to this frame is attached the flexible top or canopy. These standards are pivotally attached to a cross-bar, F, as by screw-eyes c, or in any suitable manner that Will admit of the folding together of the standards into a small space when the carriageframe is folded or in the act of folding up, and so that when the carriageframe is unfolded or expanded they may be extended to place the canopy over the occupant of the carriage.

The motions of the canopy-frame are, however, independent of the carriage-frame.

The upper ends of the standards are connected by a cross-bar, L, which bar, in turn, sustains the front andrear edges of the canopy. The canopy is made of light leather, alpaca, or any fabric or material that is capable of being folded.

Attached to the front standards, K K, are braces j j, connected by a tie-piece, k, which, in this instance, is formed in one piece with the braces. It is provided with a loop or runner, Z, operating in a similar manner to the loop P, being adapted to encircle the handleshaft H, and slide up and down thereon as a guide; and said runner may have similar catches to d e, before described, or the same catches may be used for both loops, serving, when the carriage-frame is unfolded, to hold extended or folded the canopy-frame only, and, when the entire structure is folded, serving to lock up the whole.

To hold the standard N properly under control I have a flexible brace, Q, consisting, in this instance, of a strap attached to said standards and passing back of the lower part of the handle-shaft H, and, preferably, through a guide, f, therein.

The carriage-body consists of a hammock of peculiar construction, having sides 1 1 and a bottom, '2, the whole resembling a flat-boat, and amounts, in effect, to a flexible carriagebody. It has straps U V at each corner, and is attached to the carriage-frame by passing the straps around the bars I and E, and securing them by buckles or otherwise, leaving space enough for the hammock to swing with the motion of the carriage.

The head and foot sections of the bottom I make less flexible than the remainder, to give more stability at these points, preventing the hammock from collapsing at the ends, and so giving more freedom for motion of the head and feet of the occupant.

A particular feature of my folding childs carriage is its lightness and cheapness of construction, and its compactness when lfolded for carrying or transporting it from place to place.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. In a folding childs carriage, the folding carriage-frame composed of the side bars A A and B B, pivoted together and attached tothe axles C D at their lower ends, and connected by cross-bars I and E at the upper ends, one of which cross-bars has a loop or runner, P, adapted for sliding on the handle-shaft H.

2. The handle-shaft H, axed to handle G, and provided with catches d e, in combination with a sliding runner, P, whereby the folding carriage,- frame may be locked or fastened when folded or when unfolded.

3. The folding canopyframe composed of the standards K K and N N, having pivoted to K K the side braces jj, and the tie-piece k, arranged to slide upon the handle-shaft H, for the purposes specified.

4. The flexible brace Q, attached to the canopy-frame standards N, and connected with the handleshaft H, for the purposes specified.

J oNATHAN MARSHALL, J AMES M. TULLY. 

